When I was younger, say mid to late teens, I had a much lesser opinion of the laws that govern our society. Mostly I stole. A lot. As in grand larceny levels. For no good reason other than I wanted some shiny trinket (well, gaming books and such -- D&D *is* evil. Not really. One day I'll discuss how roleplaying helps me in my life).

Anyway, this went on for several years until I got caught. Rather sloppy of me I think, I knew I was pushing it and I deserved to get caught. I was arrested but the charges were dropped as I paid the store that I stole from.

But that didn't stop me. What stopped me was getting caught and not arrested. This happened a couple of years later. Now I'm midway through college and, apparently, I still haven't really learned about life.

Anyway, I tucked a book under my jacket and went to the counter to pay for another book (note, this does work if the book you're trying to steal is small). The clerk rang up my sale and whispered to me without looking "I wouldn't do that if I were you." That really shook me, because this time I thought I had done everything right.

So I went to the back of the store (ah heck, it was Games of Berkeley, a fine gaming store in Berkeley, California, and one I still patronize occassionally) took out the book and went to the counter to buy it. I don't remember what book it was, some hardcover rules of something. But after that I consciously decided to stop shoplifting.

Now, during these years I also did other things that many people do. I pirated computer software, downloaded images and sounds, made copies of some rulebooks. All this falls under copyright laws. And over a period of time I've slowly stopped doing these things, until a few months ago when I deleted the last of the copyrighted materials on my computer.

Also during these last few years I've gotten to be more and more pro-law. I do my best to obey local laws (although I still drive too fast occassionally and I jaywalk sometimes), and really every law. I even sometimes read shrinkwrap agreements and the terms and conditions of certain things to make sure I won't break them after I legally agree to obey them.

For software, I try to use freeware where possible. Shareware I don't even look at once I know it's shareware. For the most part, if I'm going to pay for software I'll buy a commercial package. There are a few shareware packages that I've bought, as I've found that I needed their functionality. For the most part, this means that I've spent at least $1000 in the last 12 months on software.

The images and sounds I keep on my computer now have to come from sources that I own. So now I buy the magazines and books and scan the images I use for my desktop. For sounds I'll buy the video tape or cassette or CD.

Copyright is very restrictive and many do abuse them. A painting or frawing based on a copyrighted work is illegal, especially if it's then sold. Video and sound captures from the television are illegal if distributed -- personal use covers doing that for yourself only. Writing a story using characters from a television show is a violation also.

People do these things all the time. Some people think that if the copyright owner doesn't do anything about it then it's ok. But owners shouldn't have to actively enforce their rights, the violators should know better. Some owners are very kind by pretending never to have seen the illegal works, for if they officially see those works then they must take legal action or they're in danger of losing they're ownership.

I suppose the last couple of paragraphs are a way to vent my frustations. One of my stronger personal philosophies is to *not* impose my morals on other people. I try to let people decide for themselves what's right and wrong (rather libertarian of me, although I'm not libertarian). So it's frustrating to see people go down the wrong path and not be able to do anything actively (naturally, my philosophy is not quite that simple, there are things I can do, but hopefully you get the picture).

I can hope that people do the right thing and sometimes I'll be disappointed. But there are many instances when my faith in people's integrity is justified and proven to be correct. So I'm not ready to give up on humanity yet.